Yuletide Kisses
by Dena Gray
Summary: Elias introduces Chise to the kissing pomander, and much, much more... A/U, some Manga spoilers, deviates from about ch30 manga. NSFW, and if we squint and make this about two years in the future, Chise will be 17, nearly 18. Mature readers only, please. Here abides monster sex. Don't read if you squick it.
1. Chapter 1

The silver one's skirts shifted with a light rustle in the kitchen as she silently moved about, cooking Christmas dinner. Pies and puddings already adorned the kitchen table, filling the house with sweet and savory scents. The holly and ivy scattered about the house made for bright punches of color on a dreary, snowy day.

Ordinarily, Chise would go on walks or care for the garden at this time of day, but today was Christmas Eve, and Elias declared that today, on the third day of Yule, they would study local Yule traditions more in depth from the library. Ruth had huffed in boredom and had long since abandoned her side for a roam in the forest.

She sat on the soft leather sofa in front of the crackling fire, wrapped in a soft quilt Silky had tucked her in with. Elias was in his usual chair, scanning a scroll that looked delicate and ancient.

The silence was comforting, and Chise was just settling in with her reading on the Yule log tradition, when out of nowhere, a small orange blur came shooting into the room at Elias and bounced off his skull. His scroll went flying into the corner of the room behind him, forgotten in the surprise. They were both shocked beyond speech, but the mage simply leaned over to where the item had thumped onto the floor and picked it up.

It looked like an orange, but it was covered in dark spots. Now, she could smell the spicy citrus permeating the air as he took out a handkerchief and wiped the oils off of his snout.

"Well. It looks like Silky doesn't like the yule tradition I found." He turned his ember eyes to Chise and held out the fruit. She looked it over and it was obvious now that it was an actual orange and looked to have cloves studded in a pretty pattern all over. It glittered in the dying afternoon light. Reaching out tentatively, she took it from Elias and looked at him questioningly. He just returned her stare calmly, as he always seemed to, but the set of his shoulders spoke of his anticipation.

It had been long enough living with him that she could read some of his tells, now.

The spicy aroma wafted up and tickled her nose as he watched. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Ah, now that's the interesting part. Apparently, the one who is handed the pomander bites a clove out of the fruit and, by the method in which he or she deals with the clove, shows the giver where they would like to be kissed."

Her eyes flew up from looking over the round fruit, to the red fire reflected in his eyes. She shivered and said, "Kissed?"

His skull tilted in question and he leant it on his hand after settling his elbow down on the armrest. "If the recipient doesn't want to be kissed, they nicely refuse, or if they're insulted, they simply roll it back on the floor."

She blushed and held the scented ball closer to her chest. They'd shared quick little kisses and nuzzles over the past few months, but always after a moment of great emotion. This was entirely different. Any kiss given now would be for the sake of a kiss, itself. Just the idea kind of excited her, but she looked back to the kitchen where Silky was still working away at the feast they'd have tomorrow. Did she disapprove of a… romantic exchange between Chise and Elias? On the other hand, didn't all of fairy believe them already married?

Elias leaned forward in his chair and the shift of fabric caught her attention before his warm, gloved hand cradled hers.

"It's okay if you don't wish to, but you never seemed to shy away from at least friendly kisses, in the past, so I thought you wouldn't mind this yule tradition."

"I- I do. Wish to, I mean. I just… she threw it at you. Does Silky not…"

His eyes seemed to smile at her and his shoulders relaxed a little. "She simply thinks that this is a form of manipulation. She wishes the best for you. That's all." His fingers lightly caressed hers, and she wondered what his hands looked like in this form. She'd seen the dark claws in his rage, and the almost-paws in his jealousy… what did his hands look like?

Blushing again, she blinked and looked up to his eyes and asked, "What do I do?"

A warm waft of exhale blew across her hair as he tightened his hold on her hands and brought up his other to point to the cloves. "If you wish to be kissed on the hand, as friends, you bite out the clove with your teeth, then hold it out with your hand, palm down." He mimicked holding a clove stud between his fingers with the palm facing the floor.

She nodded, and lifted the fruit to her mouth, missing the wonderful warmth of his hands almost immediately. He watched her closely as she gently bit a clove between her teeth and pulled the fruit away. A little spike of juice shot out at her lips, which she surreptitiously wiped with her fingers as she pull the clove out to hold towards him, palm obediently facing down.

His eyes followed down to her hand and he seemed to briefly pause. He took the clove and placed it on the coffee table before bringing her fingers up to his snout for a delicate nuzzle of smooth bone to the back of her fingers.

It was… lovely.

As he lifted his head, he explained, "Now, if you want to, you give the pomander to the one you wish to offer a kiss. The receiver will then choose if, and where, they would like to accept the kiss."

Chise smiled, and pulled her hand back. Butterflies chased around inside her tummy. The little kiss he'd given her was very polite and proper, but she could still feel the smooth warmth of bone against her fingers. She wondered why he chose to keep this form, when it would be so much easier to shift into a human face, with lips. It seemed he wanted to at least show her his own face with a kiss this serious. After all, she'd told him he looked kind of fake with a human face. Honestly, he looked too much like the priest, Simon, for her to be comfortable with it, anyway. There was something that spoke of the unearthly bond they'd developed in the foreign but dear face he showed, now.

With another smile, she shyly handed the orange back to him.

A low purring growl wrapped around the room, and she realized it was Elias' voice. He seemed inordinately pleased that she chose to show him that, yes, she wanted a kiss from him.

It was so strange to hear such a sumptuous sound from such a stoic facade.

She shivered in delight.

Watching him slowly nip a clove out of the orange was interesting, and the stud was almost too small for his gloved fingers. There was a moment when it seemed that he might take off his glove to make the task easier, but he eventually got it and held out the woody spice with his palm facing up.

"This means that I- the recipient, I mean- asks for a kiss to the wrist. It is considered more personal than a kiss to the back of the hand."

Her eyes widened. In order to kiss his wrist, she'd get to move his glove! Heart beating a little more than normal, she shimmied to the floor and on her knees with the quilt still wrapped around her and reached for his hand. It still held the orange, but she took it and put it on the table, followed by the little bit of clove. Glancing nervously up at him, she saw his intense interest in what she was doing. She ducked her head and held his large, warm hand between her own, two small ones.

Her thumbs lightly smoothed out the wrinkles of the soft fabric across his palm and his fingers flexed a little. It took a moment to pull the tiny pearl button out of its fastening, but the heat intensified beneath her fingers as soon as she got it loose. The glove was made well, the material a well-woven, cottony kind of substance, and as such, it was almost too soft to pull off of his relaxed hand. She pulled a little, then pulled a little more, but eventually had to rest his upturned palm against her sternum to hold it steady enough to pull the glove loose.

Her realization of exactly where his hand was - just beneath her throat with those deadly claws so possible - made her itch to pull the glove completely off. She sighed to herself and just did it.

Before she really knew it, his bare hand was under her face. It took a moment to catch that it wasn't a trick of the firelight and shadows, that his skin really was the most beautiful shade of plum and lavender. Tendons and veins ran and flexed just beneath his skin, same as hers, but- she looked up to his neck- yes, it was purple.

A gentle musk played with her senses- the smell of Elias. It was winter woodsmoke, the comforting smell of their workroom with spices and elixers, old parchment, and beneath it all, a wild gaminess that reminded her of something with reflective eyes in the night.

She must have been still too long, taking him into her senses, because he started pulling back and tightening up his shoulders. "No! Wait," she cried and tightened her grip on his hand.

"You don't need to be uncomfortable, Chise. It's just a game, after all."

She yanked his hand closer and glared at him. "You would take away my prize? That's not playing the game very fair."

"Chise…" He looked stunned, jaw slightly dropped in surprise. She didn't know what it was that made her react in defiance whenever he shied away, but she knew if she let this opportunity go, he might go running off again.

The memory of his jealous, tentacle-like appendages wrapping around every part of her body in the shadows of the forest, holding her so tightly it was difficult to breathe, reminded her that he coveted her attention. She needed to show him that she yearned for his attention, too.

With a careful watch over his body language, she lowered her face slowly to his delicate, violet skin. She could almost feel his warmth on her lips before she touched him. When she finally did reach the hot silk of his wrist, her lips pressed gently against the tendons and structures that made his grip so strong when he hefted her up in his arms.

She felt her heart speed up at the thought that she was kissing his skin. She'd pecked his cheek many times in the past few months, but this… this was much more intimate. How far did this game go? How far did he want it to go? How far did she want it to go? Her fingers pulled the cuff of his shirt up his muscled forearm and she pressed her nose more firmly against his arm, flattening her lips firmly against his skin.

That delicious purring growl wrapped around her again, and his fingertips, which were shaped like hers, but so much more masculine and protected by longish black nails, reflexively curled up against her throat. Shivers wracked her body, but she was nowhere near chilled. Despite the snow outside, she was heated and pressed her hot cheek against his wrist for a brief moment before sitting upright to share gazes with her mentor.

His bare hand lifted up and caressed her cheek. The familiar gesture felt infinitely more intimate with his bare skin and she closed her eyes, leaning into his palm and holding it more tightly to her cheek with her own hand.

She felt him move and opened her eyes to see him reach for the orange and hand it to her, warm puffs of air escaping his slightly opened jaws. His tongue glistened in the firelight behind his large fangs, and she was reminded of the times that he'd licked her to ease cuts or scrapes. She'd been uncomfortable the first time he'd done it, but that was before he'd become so dear.

With a warm smile, she released his hand and took the proffered fruit with both hands. "What other signals are there?" She tilted her head and rolled the fruit between her palms, each jostle weighting the air with the citrusy-clove spice.

Elias inhaled and sat back, exhaling slowly. He shifted a tiny bit, but settled back down to return her regard. "There are many, actually, each more… intimate than the last. The goal is to never go beyond the permission of the receiver, but I admit, the mechanics of some of the game seems beyond my ability."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, I don't have lips. I suppose I could shift into my human face-"

"No!" She exclaimed a little too quickly. He looked a bit surprised, so she continued, "I want to see you."

He was silent and if bones could blush, she'd wager his would, right then. She looked down at the pomander again. "Couldn't I just… point?"

It was a moment before he answered in a slightly shaky voice, "I don't see why not."

Her eyelids drooped and her heart thudded with the potential that sat at her fingertips. Elias would kiss her wherever she pointed. Her breathing hastened and she licked her lips. Where did she want to point? How could she maybe get him to use his tongue instead of the smooth bone of his mandible?

Instinctively, she understood the difficulty that lay with him trying to kiss her on the mouth, and that was likely what he'd been trying to say, but when he'd licked her neck that time, it was humid and confusing. What would it feel like, now?

A slow smirk lit her face and Elias seemed to shiver for a moment. He tried so hard to appear nonchalant and unaffected, but sometimes she just thought that meant he felt things more deeply. After all, still waters run deep.

She brought the orange to her mouth, keeping her eyes on her fiancee, and bit out a clove again. This time, she watched him as she took the bit of spice from between her teeth. His glowing red eyes followed her fingers voraciously as she slowly moved it down her chin, down her throat, to the cleft between her clavicles.

Her hand hovered there, waiting for him to realize what she was asking. The moment he became aware that she'd stopped where she wanted a kiss, his ember eyes flared brightly.

He inhaled, and the exhale carried a lull of his purr with it. "Are you sure, Chise?"

He kneeled down on the floor in front of her and the quilt finally fell from her shoulders. Her white Oxford shirt was just barely open enough to see where she pointed, but she knew he could tell. His eyes finally lifted up to her face and she smiled, handing the clove to him.

He waited until she nodded in answer, but looked from her shirt to his ungloved hand. Yes! He was taking off the other glove!

She watched him peel the soft material off and drop it to the floor next to the other one, then flex each hand as if he were testing the elements before a spell. Her heart ramped up in speed when he reached for her collar and started unbuttoning the buttons one by one.

She could feel his heated breath on her neck as he peered closer to get the second button. When she was bared to the tops of her breasts, but not exposing her bra, he stopped. The back of his hand lingered at her sternum, just above propriety, and she shivered in anticipation.

"Chise… I'm not sure what it is you really want…" His voice, always so deep and calm, trembled. He spread her collar and brushed his bare thumb against the notch she wanted him to kiss. She basked in the heat of his palm against her shoulder and hummed a smile up to him.

She'd been told a bit of his past, enough so that this moment could be truly frightening… if she didn't know him… love him.

"Elias?"

"Hmm?"

He seemed lost in touching her throat with his thumb.

"Kiss me-" How to put this? "Kiss me like you need to heal me."

There. His eyes flared hot again, hotter than the fireplace beside them. He understood. She nodded.

He shuddered. Something changed a little in his body, she wasn't sure what. He somehow grew more feral and his breathing became more ragged, but he still looked like her Elias- not the crazed creature of rage or jealousy- still her Elias.

His purring came back and there was a depth change to it, making it sound more… everything.

Hot breaths wafted across her exposed neck and a tiny part of her was afraid, but she quickly squashed that feeling. He would never hurt her. Even in his wildest changes, he'd never done more than bruise her skin.

She knew she could trust him and it was a heady thing. With that realization, she closed her eyes and dropped her head back, completely exposing her throat with a raspy hum of desire.

His answering moan was loud and he grabbed tightly to her shoulders, nearly too heavy for her to withstand. His breath panted out against her throat, heavy with humidity and desire. She vaguely remembered the last time he'd leaned over her, panting and drooling with the remnants of his control, and finally realized that perhaps he wasn't fighting off physical hunger, that night. Perhaps, he had been fighting the desire he had for her, sexually.

That was a very perspective-changing thought. Had he been more aware and able to name his feelings, she might have asked him about it, but now was not the time.

Right now, she needed to savor the feeling of his tongue slowly reaching out from behind his teeth and carefully licking her suprasternal notch. A small moan escaped her as his wet tongue drew circles around the indentation in her skin, then dipped to paint the center. His gravelly groan of satisfaction enveloped her throat and she felt the tips of his teeth rest against her sternum and jaw as his tongue grew more and more bold, wrapping itself along the jugular muscles and tendons that protected her neck.

She nearly lost her balance and grabbed for his enormous shoulders, filling her grasp with his shirtsleeves. His hands shifted from her shoulders and started sliding up her arms, back and forth, until they came back to her shoulders and slid down to her waist. His teeth scraped her skin lightly, and she wondered at his control. She knew he lost control of himself, sometimes.

Would this be one of those times? Did she mind? Did she want him to?

A part of her said no, but everything that had a say right now, screamed yes!

Her grip tightened on his shirt and her fingers started moving to find the exposed skin at his own throat. He yanked her body up flush against his and withdrew his head up to look at the ceiling, his jaws open.

His hands spasmed against her back before he slowly dropped his head down to rest atop hers.

His voice was breathless and dark, and had hints of wildness to it. "Chise, you have no idea what you do to me. I don't know what to call this feeling. It's so… primal."

She smiled against his throat and nuzzled her lips there as she spoke. "Elias… it's called desire. Passion. Love."

He shivered as she mouthed the words into his skin and swallowed audibly.

"I'm not sure how much I can control it. I might hurt you, or frighten you."

She kissed her way up his jugular to the velvety soft skin behind his jaw hinge, where an ear would normally be on a human. "You won't hurt me, Elias. And you don't scare me. I trust you."

His arms tightened around her body, reminding her of the time in the forest, deep in the thorny shadows. He was so needy, her Elias.

His hands fretted at her shirt, pulling and bunching the fabric in different ways. She thought about his words, and realized that perhaps what they needed was simply practice and time. He'd had infinite patience with her, teaching her their craft. This was when she became the teacher, and he the student.

With that resolved, she wrapped her arms around his neck more comfortably, less suggestively. "How about we just take our time? With you working on my cure, we're sure to have all the time in the world, right?"

He seemed to visibly relax when she took the pressure of the moment off of him, and his embrace instantly became more comfortable and less tense. She still kept her mouth to his neck, but they just kneeled on the floor in their first romantic embrace.

It was some time later that night, as she lay in bed next to him, that she wondered…

What if they hadn't stopped? Would they have- could they even- would it even fit?

She blushed and angled up to kiss her fiancee on her new favorite spot, just behind the jaw on his neck.

His delicious purr interrupted his light snore and filled the room.

She smiled and told herself there was time enough to find out about that later. For now, dreams awaited.


	2. Chapter 2

Chise dreamt of many things that night, but mostly of warm embraces and Elias. His intense eyes and low, growling purr echoed in her thoughts until, just as she stirred awake, one such purr was delivered directly in her ear.

She awoke to find herself curled up against Elias' heat as he sat up against the headboard, her head against his chest. While one of her hands was curled up under her, the other had slipped across his hard belly and threaded her fingers between the buttons on his pyjama shirt. Reflexively, as her fingers had found his warm, supple skin, they had started softly rubbing back and forth in the divot that separated the left and right abdomen ladders, about where he would have had a belly button.

She supposed she really shouldn't have expected him to have one, but it was fascinating and strange, nonetheless.

His bare hand grasped her shoulder, kneading her small muscle there, and she twisted her head to try and look up at his face.

Her fingers stopped when she saw his ember eyes were muted, as if he had his eyes closed.

"Am I… Is this okay?" she asked.

He inhaled and his eyes brightened in her direction. "Very much so, Chise. Good morning. Merry Christmas."

She smiled at his pleased greeting, and replied, "Did you sleep well? You're usually not so awake this early."

He cocked his head, glanced to the window and back to her. She did the same, and saw that dawn was quickly approaching.

His hand on her arm slid down to her waist and squeezed gently, pressing her body closer to his side. She dropped her head back down to his chest and wondered at the muscles she vaguely remembered from his Naga form. Were they the same now, in this form?

He answered, "Indeed, I did. Surprisingly well. I feel curiously energized, this morning."

"Hmm," she hummed, and started back to stroking the smooth skin beneath her fingers again. She started toying with a button on his shirt and looked up to him again. He was watching her intently. While she held his gaze, she pried the button out of its loop and slipped her whole hand into the pocket of access she'd just created.

His jaw slackened, but he maintained eye contact. Her hand flattened against his abdomen and traced the hills and valleys up and around in a path about as big as his hand, keeping them in neutral territory. The fingers still at her waist bunched the fabric there and she felt a warm finger slide against the side of her stomach.

Her hand went up, so did his. Her fingers swirled, his did the same, all with their eyes locked. Her breathing was getting close to hyperventilation, so she stilled her hand, took a deep breath, closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to his chest once more.

"Chise…"

His dear voice sounded hesitant, so she prompted him. "Yes, Elias?"

"May I... kiss you again, like I did last night?"

She smiled and didn't even hesitate. He was so sweet for asking. "Of course. I'd like that." She tilted her head back to offer her neck, but they were at an awkward angle, so she laid back against the downy mattress and looked up to him.

He watched her move and seemed a bit shy, so, as he turned to face her, she reached for his free hand and lifted it up to her lips for a quick kiss to his wrist. Her fingers slid along the muscles of his forearm before letting go and she canted her head back against her pillow to wait for him.

He exhaled and slowly leaned over her, supporting his weight with both arms braced beside her shoulders, one leaning on his elbow and the other locked straight. His jaw opened slightly, revealing his tongue, and she saw him pause for a moment, glancing up to her to be sure of his welcome. She smiled in encouragement, tilted her head back a little more, and lifted her hands up to palm his obliques in a gesture of comfort that immediately brightened his eyes to a smoky red. His tongue then easily dove to lick her neck and her voice cracked a quick, wanton moan, which was answered by one from him.

She shuddered at the deep sound coming from him and felt things in her body tighten in response. Grasping his sides more tightly, she bunched the fabric in her hands, but the inability to really feel him grew frustrating. She wanted to feel his skin. The lavender satin of his wrists and the warmth that always emanated from his skin called to something wild within. Before she could question the wisdom of her actions, and while he was avidly licking up her neck to her ear, her fingers started unbuttoning his shirt between them.

His hot, wet tongue slithered along the dip where her neck met her shoulder. It was divine, and she faltered in her quest to get to his skin. A tooth grazed against her collarbone and she was shaken out of her reverie, intent back on his buttons.

As soon as she reached the last one, her hands dove up to slide across his aubergine pectoral muscles. There was a very large expanse of rippling muscles that clenched and trembled beneath her fingers. She was pleased to find that he had nipples, and by the needy, surprised growl in her ear, right before his tongue licked that sensitive shell, he was pleased as well. The areolas felt silky, with his nipples hardening into eraser-sized peaks beneath her fingers. Her thumb rolled the budding furls and his growling groan was almost too deep to hear.

His hips rolled slightly against hers, with the sheets tangled between them. She wasn't sure if she was glad or disappointed at the fabric barrier, but pushed that thought away as she felt him tense up to move. She lifted her hands away. Had she gone too far?

She watched him settle back down beside her, looking for any closed expressions or regret. His breathing was heavy, and after a quiet moment, he reached to pull her flush up against his beautiful torso. Relieved, she snuggled her face into his neck and placed a few small kisses there as she waited to see what happened next.

"Thank you, Chise." His breathing quickly came under his control again. "I… enjoyed that. Very much."

She smirked, her lips still against his neck. She wasn't very educated in relations between lovers, but her cousins had left the television on every once in a while when she'd lived with them and she'd caught a few glimpses of things that had been confusing to her at the time.

Not so confusing anymore, she grinned to herself.

Kissing Elias on the cheek or jaw had come naturally, and the neighbors were free with affection amongst themselves. Chise's abundant curiosity had also found a very old text in Elias' library on the subject. She remembered that day of furtive, flushed reading and shifted her legs in an impatient manner.

She thought about the differences in their bodies, and wondered if he felt things the way she did.

She wondered if he would let her lick his neck. It was so good when he did it to her, would he like it too? She nuzzled the muscle in front of her, the most prominent on his neck, and tentatively reached out her tongue to touch to his skin.

Her eyes widened as she realized his taste. It wasn't gamey, like she'd expected. It was clean and slightly musky, with a slight overtone of… blackberries?

She was entranced, barely registering his tightened silence and his hands fisting in her hair. She inhaled through her mouth and tasted him again, this time with more of her tongue. The savory sweetness of blackberries and the soft earthiness of sage swam in her senses, begging her to partake of more. Her lips closed in on his neck, loosely trying to understand more of his scent and flavor, but her tongue won out as she found herself dragging up his neck as if he were flavored cream she were cleaning off a spoon.

She reached the spot she kissed before they went to sleep last night, just behind his jaw, and she whispered, "Elias, you taste so good."

His grasp on her hair tightened, then relaxed, and his breathing was a dull roar in his mouth.

Chise couldn't get enough and let the slight frenzy of her newfound sensuality overtake her, urging her to travel along his neck, tasting the difference between his jaw and his skin. The bone of his face tasted slightly waxy and floral, and she vaguely wondered what he cleaned his face with. Her greedy tongue lapped a path back down the column on his throat, over the deeply humming Adam's apple, to his suprasternal notch. She used her teeth to lightly graze against the tendons there, and she felt his hands leave her hair.

Two thumps against the mattress told her he'd grabbed the bedclothes and he started leaning back to the mattress. She dutifully followed him, suckling on his clavicle along the way. In her excitement, she pushed the covers down, away from their bodies, and leaned down to press her cheek against his breast, so very curious to taste him there, but just a tiny bit afraid of her own brazen actions. She needed him to tell her it was okay, and she lay against him, working up the courage to do so.

His breathing was heavier than normal, again, and his heart thundered beneath her ear. She opened her eyes and saw the tenting in his pyjama pants.

She kind of wasn't ready for that, yet, but she really, really, really wanted to know if his nipples tasted as amazing as his neck. His hand came back up to cup her head, gently petting her hair, as his other hand came to rest on his stomach.

She nuzzled against the soft point beneath her cheek and hesitantly asked, "Elias, um…can I...?"

Her courage failed her, but he seemed to know what she was asking, at least that she was asking for his permission to do more, for he answered in a smoky, dazed tone, "Anything you want, elskan mín. You can do anything you want to me."

Chise had no idea what that bit in the middle meant, but she could ask later. With such easy permission, she grinned and rolled her mouth down to latch onto his tightened furl of sensitive skin, suckling her newfound favorite flavor from his skin. His arms wrapped around her so tightly, she groaned loudly against his breast, which made him cry out, repeatedly.

He kept her head pressed to his chest and she kept suckling and licking his chest until, after his voice calmed, she showed she wanted to move and his hands fell away easily. She glanced aside at where his… thing… had been, and had her suspicions confirmed.

A blush stained her cheeks, especially at his next question.

"What was... that? I've never felt anything so…"

She looked up to his face and saw the drowsy, satisfied wonderment in his lassitude and curved eye shapes. His deep, resonant voice was breathless and dreamy. She smiled to herself. She'd done that to him. For him.

His head turned to her, asking for a response. "Chise?"

She knew he was unused to human emotions, but it was thrilling and shocking that she'd apparently given him this first. "In all of your studies, and all of your years, you've never had an orgasm, Elias?"

Her smile deepened and she felt intensely satisfied with herself. His hand came up to caress her cheek.

"I have read of them, most certainly. I have even observed a few, but I had no idea it was this powerful of a feeling." He looked to her in curiosity. "Does it feel this way to you?"

She hid her face for a moment against his hand and peeked back at him, a blush seeming to take up residence in her cheeks. "I don't know, I've never had one."

His ember eyes burned brightly and as he moved to sit up, so did she. They sat in the middle of his bed, in his room, staring at each other with open curiosity and affection.

"Do you want one?"

His husky timbre sent shivers down her spine. "I think so. You seemed to enjoy it."

"I did. Very much so." After a moment's pause to think he asked, "How should I do this for you? Your anatomy… I'm so-" he sighed, "What can I do that won't hurt you?"

She smiled. "We were doing just fine, before. I liked a lot of things we just did. Do you want to try kissing me like I was kissing you?"

He looked surprised, "Would that please you as much?" His red irises dropped down to look at her breasts, still hidden in her pyjamas.

Just having him look at her like that made her want him do all kinds of things to her.

She teasingly replied, "I don't know. Let's find out."

Her fingers bravely went up to her shirt buttons, but he gently drew her hands away and did it himself. As her shirt parted and breasts came into view, he slid both of his large hands to cup them, reverently.

"So soft." His thumbs slid across her coral pink areolas and she felt a strange sort of twitch, deep down in between her legs. He did it again, and her vulva clenched, making her squirm.

"How does that feel, Chise?"

Her eyes had closed and her lips parted in anticipation for the next electric twitch in her groin, so she was startled when she felt his tongue lick her lips delicately.

Her eyes flew open and she gazed at Elias. His eyes were smoldering as he continued to fondle her breasts. His hands were very thorough, sliding up and over, around and around the slightly pendulous weight of them.

His tongue slid out of his mouth and danced across her lips quickly, shyly. "Chise?"

His fingers curled up and pinched her nipples, tugging gently. She could barely register that he was asking her a question, but responded, "Hmmm?"

Her hips were squirming again and as she sat on the bed facing Elias, she felt like she wanted to climb atop him and squirm there. What would he do?

"Chise, does this feel good to you?

She breathlessly nodded and watched him lean his head forward again, anticipating his tongue's appearance, but he gently nudged her with his head, directing her to lay back against the mattress.

His hands slid down to her bare waist and she shivered at how warm it was, to have his hands so easily envelop her midsection almost entirely. As he followed her movements, he remained mostly sitting and brought his hands back up to cup her breasts again, holding them together for when he nuzzled his bony face against the hardened nipples.

"Oh!" She cried out as what felt like an electric current zapped along her body, pooling all that energy into her groin. She shifted restlessly and ran her hands along his chest wherever she could reach. She was losing her mind and all she could think about was him using his tongue against her nipples. "Please, Elias…"

That delicious purr of his ground into the room, and he avidly ran his tongue across her nipples where they stood proud atop the press of flesh between his strong hands. The feeling was incredible and she couldn't form words to beg him to keep going. A frenzied pressure was building in her body, mostly between her legs, and she wondered what it would feel like when all that pressure released. Her hands greedily slid from his chest, to his neck, to his head and caressed the back joints of his mandible.

His throaty purr deepened to a growl and his mouth opened a little more. She was slightly confused when he let go of her breasts, but was intrigued when he scooped the flesh of one breast gently between his teeth, holding it delicately with his jaw while his tongue-

"Oh, mmmgnh!" she was transported in emotion as his tongue slithered around and around that one captive breast, swirling closer and closer to the peak that ever so often brushed against the ridged roof of his mouth. As the tip of his tongue writhed up to the hardened furl of her nipple, his jaw pulled back and her breast fell out of his mouth. She shivered, first from the cold air against the humidity left behind, then from the light flickering he did with his tongue against her coral peak.

She moaned, and grabbed her other breast to try and replicate the feeling, there, too. There was something just out of reach, something building deep in her body, something she wanted… so… badly… !

Her hips bucked as her screams of completion rang out into the room, and Elias let out an unearthly growl, pressing his weight down on top of her. She pressed up against him, unsure of what her hands were doing, other than trying to touch as much of him as possible. His head lifted up, seemingly to look out the window, but she couldn't see his eyes. He quickly buried his face in the pillow above her head and bellowed into it as his hips bucked hard and rhythmically into the mattress beside her.

Her body felt weak and empty, strong and full, quivering with emotion as his naked chest pressed against hers. They were both struggling for breath for a while, but as soon as she shifted slightly beneath him, he adjusted himself to lay beside her, lifting his weight away in consideration.

She looked to him and saw a slightly embarrassed expression between the size of his pupils and the set of his shoulders. Her hand that rested between them reached up to caress his jaw.

"Elias, that was amazing. Thank you."

His hand came up to clasp her wrist, stroking the skin there. "You're not upset with me, are you? Have I not frightened you?"

She'd told him before that he didn't frighten her, so was there more to his question? "Elias… are you frightened?"

He seemed to think about it for a moment, but looked directly at her and said, "No. I feel… powerful. Which is strange, because I know I'm stronger than most, both physically and magically, so that emotion tied with these acts is confusing. Above that, I feel… satisfied and… warm."

She smirked, knowingly, and glanced down in the general direction of his… area. "You orgasmed again, didn't you?"

His hand ran across her belly and tugged her closer. "Yes, I did," he growled, which excited her, but then sighed, "I'm sorry, elskan, I couldn't seem to help myself."

"Elskan… what does that mean?"

He tilted his head slightly and swept his fingers slowly across her sternum, making her shiver.

"It's a term of endearment, meaning 'love'. Is that acceptable?"

Her heart sped up and her smile grew into a grin. "Really?"

He waited, seemingly unsure as to what she meant. She rolled over into him and kissed his sternum, repeating, "Elskan. Yes, that's very, very acceptable." She giggled and snuggled against him.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you, basementtrol for the suggestion of using Elias' POV. ;)

Author's note: this starts to get into a few spoilers from the manga, past what has been shown in the anime. This is a/u, and she does not have the dragon curse. Proceed with caution. There will be at least one more chapter, maybe two.

.o.

Elias lay on his side, holding his intended betrothed tenderly, and quietly watched her as the morning sun peeked into their bedroom. The only sound that could be heard to human ears was the dawn birdsong, but he could hear the dew dissipating from the window nearby, as well.

He normally did not enjoy morningtide, and normally slept well past eight o'clock, but this dawn had been a revelation. His great jaw stretched with a yawn and he carefully shifted to keep from waking his precious Chise.

And she was precious to him, more and more every day. Last night, when she'd easily handed the pomander to him with a sweetly shy smile, she'd truly shown him that she wanted more than just protection and education from him. She'd shown him that she accepted him as her suitor, and without any hesitation, adjusted their kissing game to his abilities.

She didn't know how much that had impressed him. He'd agonized for hours yesterday as to whether or not he should show his human form or refined form to her during the game. Recently, Chise had been giving obvious preference for the refined form he used day-to-day, and had commented on several occasions that his human form felt strange to her.

When he'd lost control and devolved into his thorny shadow-beast, she'd not given it a second thought. He had. He'd been afraid of her reaction, and was shaken for days, no, weeks with her easy acceptance.

Even when his body further changed into a Naga, she'd merely been surprised at the speed of his approach. His heart beat hard in his chest twice, before he calmed it down, at the reminder that she remembered - wanted to remember - that time he'd leaned over her prone form, in this very bed, and fought his animal instincts. That had indeed been a tight battle between his developing affection for Chise, and his confusing that attraction with hunger. An animal's body and brain could only process so much information, and his intense need for her to always be close to him had nearly overpowered his rational thinking.

He knew it was irrational to want her so much, but it was also irrational to try and take her life. He knew from their confrontation with Cartaphilus that he would be - had been - devastated to lose her.

Chise was more precious to him than life, than magic. He'd never known that type of emotion before. Even with Lindel, who'd taught him so much for so long… he'd never garnered this strong of a hold over Elias.

Then, when she'd slipped off for a day in London, he'd been terrified that Alice would tell her about the bird's missive. As far as he knew, Chise could have been leaving him, even after promising never to do so.

Humans lied. He knew this.

When she'd returned to him, bearing gifts, nonetheless… his relief had been nearly shattering.  
He'd not known how spoiled he'd been for her regard and attention, until she'd felt as if she'd left him. He'd learned what it meant to be lonely, but the biting, grasping, thorny feelings overwhelming his thinking whenever that child, Stella, came by truly sent him in a tailspin.

He'd not lost so much control as to be thrown to all fours in more score than he'd care to count.

Chise giving her time and attention to someone else, someone he didn't even like, was intolerable.

When she'd found him in the woods and fell into his den of shadows, he'd seized upon the opportunity to grab on to her and never let go. His body simply bent to his wishes and created whatever appendages he needed to do the task. Such was the whim of shadows and thorn.

Despite all of that, despite his inability to maintain composure when it came to losing her, she stayed. Despite everything, she accepted him. Every form he'd inadvertently shown her, every side to his surly and petulant behavior… she accepted him. Favored him above all others.

How could he possibly deny her anything she wanted after such a realization as that?

Their roles of teacher and student were becoming more and more blurred every day. He learned more about himself and his burgeoning emotions than he was currently teaching her about magic.

She'd grasped onto magic so quickly, with her agile mind and inherent talent. He'd always been slow to comprehend human emotions and constantly second-guessed what he was feeling.

Last night had been no exception. He'd nearly lost control again, over an indulgent lapping of her neck. She tasted like cream and smelled faintly of summer roses. How could he possibly hold control over his body much longer?

He nearly didn't, this morning. Just the thought of her breast in his mouth, beneath his tongue, was enough to make him hard for her again.

The ensuing ejaculation had nearly broken him. He was ashamed of the nipped bite-marks on the pillowcase beside Chise's head. The only way he'd kept hold of his refined form was to release his orgasm by thrusting deeply into the mattress. Chise hadn't seen his penis come loose from his pants, hadn't seen him quickly fold himself back in as he moved to his side.

She merely gazed at him in passionate adoration, and he was transported with tender feelings in return.

He took a shaky breath to calm his body down. It wouldn't do, for her to wake to his erection practically staring her in the face. She'd been so… so deliciously responsive to his explorations, and truly seemed to be able to tell when he was losing control.

He was grateful to her when she'd let him stop last night. The pressure of wanting to advance but also hold back was nearly more than he could bear.  
The confusing dichotomy of wanting to keep a tight rein on his body, but be free in his affections, took its toll on him, and he quickly dropped off into sleep last night.

His dreams had been filled with the taste of her skin and the sound of her soft, mewling, pleasure-filled cries. The feeling of her small body pressing urgently against his woke a deep seated urge to press further, take more.

He shivered at the memory of her bold explorations this morning. Just the tips of her fingers had sent his body into a conflagration of desire. Her mouth had sent that flame into a burning crucible of molten release.

Rifling through his thoughts, piercing the cloud of emotions regularly, was the revelation of his calling her Elskan. Since when had he dealt with terms of endearment? He'd known the term for a long time, learned it early on, and hadn't thought once of the term for over a hundred years. In the midst of passion, it came slipping out and he knew immediately the word was right for her.

Elskan mín, beloved.

Until that moment, he'd truly not known what was so interesting about copulation. The overwhelming urge to piston his shaft into… something… had nearly made him lose his mind. He'd clawed at his self control, reigning it in tightly, so he'd not lose this opportunity with Chise.

When she revealed that she'd never had an orgasm, either, he'd been shocked. He'd merely assumed that all humans relieved themselves of what had seemed such a base need, but thinking further about it, she was still young and had a repressed life before he'd bought her.

A curious wave of possession - yes, that was what he'd felt in the forest - rolled over him at the realization of what it truly meant for her to be a virgin. Of course, it was traditional for brides to be chaste, but the possessive thought of being the only one to show her this kind of pleasure was thickly overwhelming his need to maintain control.

Thinking of losing control, the room was redolent of summer roses and he longed to find the source. It had to be her; he remembered the scent rising in the heat between them last night.

The clock in the hall struck seven chimes after playing Saint Christopher. He was loathe to leave the softness of Chise's body as it lay curled against him, but he felt a curious stickiness in his pants, where wetness had been before. With a sigh, Elias slowly untangled from his intended, and sat up with his back to her, hiding his inspection from her view.

He pulled at the waistband of his pyjamas and felt a bit of revulsion. The ejaculate from earlier was drying on his skin and it was quite unpleasant. He really needed to take a bath.

Before he could raise off the bed, small hands, still slightly shy, even after their intense intimacy, slowly ran up his large back in a caress. Wherever she touched him, relaxed in a rippling wave. Leaning against his body, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held tightly.

After a moment of quiet reveling in her touch, his hand came up and held her arms to him in a sort of embrace. She was so dear to him. "I have very much enjoyed your attentions and the intimacies you have allowed me to perform on you, Chise. Thank you." He let her hand go and sighed with a note of disgust muttered under his breath as a waft of cold air hit the wetness on his lower belly. "I really need to clean myself up. I'm a mess."

He braced his hands down on the edge of the mattress to stand, but he felt her press into his back, with one hand wandering slightly down. She took a breath and offered, "I could clean that up for you, if you'd like."

His shock had him sit straight up, nearly knocking her loose in the process. "Chise-" What could she be thinking? Why would she offer to perform such a lowly task? He'd heard of other masters forcing their apprentices to do such things, but he felt it was beneath them. Until this morning, he'd never even understood why.

"What? Is that wrong? To want to-"

Oh, she'd taken it as rejection. He mustn't let her think that. "No, no, I just..."

"Elias, just tell me if I'm too forward or if you don't want something, and I'll do the same, okay? I'm just as new at this as you are… and I'm sure I'm just as messy, right now."

His head turned a bit to the side and she peeked over his shoulder to catch his eye. He caught the scent of roses again, and he felt his senses being overwhelmed.

He whispered in a daze, "Really?"

"Uh-huh." She continued to watch him, indulgence and care written all over her expression, but he paid it no mind.

He sniffed the air, letting the perfume of roses fill his sense of smell and taste. His eye swept back to her and he shifted back onto the bed to see her more clearly. He sniffed again.

She smiled lightly, "What are you doing?"

It was definitely coming from her, but- he leaned in. It wasn't just her skin. Oh, now that he was leaning closer, he could smell it more strongly. His mouth watered and a bit of his animal brain surged forth to hunt it out.

"Elias! What are you-?"

Without warning, he dove towards her belly and pressed his snout in to breathe in her scent, wuffling her skin to find the source of that delicious smell.

"Stop that," she giggled. He started to move down and he heard a low purr roll out of his chest the closer he got to-

"Elias?"

She was shaking with desire now, instead of mirth, as his head dropped between her legs. His body crawled around on the bed until he was in a better position and he pressed the tip of his snout into her clothed crotch like a beast obsessed.

Here, between her legs, where life began, was the heavenly scent of summer roses. He rubbed his snout in it, pressing close enough to feel the wetness seep through her bedclothes, hearing the softly squelching sound of her genitalia as it moved beneath it all.

He wanted it, he wanted to taste it, savor it. His mouth opened and drool gathered behind his teeth, coating his tongue and inviting her intoxicating scent further into his soul.

Somewhere in the room, he'd heard her cry out in that sweet sound of desire that had built up to her exquisite release earlier this morning, but it was the shock of her hands grasping his horns that made him focus his eyes on hers.

He stopped, with his mouth open and his tongue against her pulsing vulva through her pants. They locked eyes and she was on the brink of another orgasm, he could tell.

"Elias?" she asked, when the tension between them mounted too high.

He… retracted, embarrassed that he'd proven so… base. His tongue closed up behind his wall of teeth, and he sat back on the bed, holding himself as still as possible.

After a few moments, which Chise used to scoot up into a sitting position, he finally composed himself enough to answer her, but what could he say? You smell like heaven, you smell like manna, I want to wallow in your scent like a starving hound… what kind of sentiment was that?

Her eyes, ever the color of the deep forest in spring, held him captive as he stumbled on an explanation. "You smell like roses."

Her mouth opened in surprise. What a thing to say! What was wrong with him? She'd surely laugh-

"I do?" She laughed lightly, with seeming delight and no censure. She answered, "Your skin tastes like blackberries."

"Blackberries?" His skin had a flavor? He was intrigued. He brought his hand up to his mouth and licked. "Hmm. I can't tell. I can only smell you, right now."

She looked amused and he was nearly taken by her scent again when the cold stickiness in his pants made itself known by pulling on delicate skin. He shifted uncomfortably where he was seated on the large bed, and repeated, "I need to wash." He made to get off the bed.

"Elias?"

He stood and absently responded as he made for the wardrobe, "Yes, elskan mín?" Amazing how easily the words flowed from him, now that he'd broken that personal taboo.

"Why were you so…" Her voice tapered off and she waited for him to finish pulling his clothes from the wardrobe and look back at her to figure out her implied question. She flipped her hand in a circle, implying she didn't know how to ask about his actions. "You know."

He took a moment to answer, walking back to where she sat on the end of the bed. She was always so frank and open with him. Would it hurt to let her know how she made him feel? "Because it is winter, and I smelled our garden in high summer between your legs. It is a most intoxicating scent."

She looked up to him and swallowed, blushing from the compliment, "Intoxicating?"

He looked down and whiffed the air, tasting the floral scent still on his tongue. It was delicious and he had the whim of finding out if her body tasted as divine as it smelled. Two quick thumps of his heart beat in his chest before he answered, "Very."

She blushed and smiled, left a bit breathless by his explanation. He moved to leave before he fell upon her and showed her just how intoxicating she was. She followed him, but he paused at the door and looked down to her.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to bathe. Clean up, like you."

He looked down for a moment to the floor. Could he take that risk? Having her so close to him, naked and wet, dripping with rose-honey before his very eyes… he nearly gave in when she asked, "Are you- do you not want-?"

Her hesitation belied her brave words, but gave him an idea. "Chise, I want to ask you for a favor, but you can say 'no'. I'll accept that as an answer." He wasn't sure how she would take his request, but she seemed interested.

"What is it? What kind of favor?" Chise was still suspicious of open-ended questions, but that was her nature, after years of being betrayed by those supposedly close to her.

He'd vowed when he bought her to be kind, but he found himself wanting to win her confidence. He was torn between a safer question of asking her to wash after him, or the more dangerous question of asking her to not wash at all.

He knew he was being somewhat hypocritical, since he couldn't stand the idea of not cleaning up the mess he'd made in his pants, but the thought of her walking around all day today with the scent of summer roses wafting off of her… and he'd know where it was most potent, and that he'd been the one to make it so…

He felt the heated flush creep up his neck, but he paused only a moment before asking, "Could you not wash… today?"

She blinked up at him, confused. "Umm. I suppose so. Why?"

He dropped everything in his hands to the bed, and gathered her up into his arms, hugging them chest to breast. They both flushed at the contact and she clutched her hands on his shoulders while wrapping her legs around his hips. He watched her intently as her legs hugged their intimate parts closer together. As their bodies met, Elias was overcome with the need to press into her. He turned and leaned Chise against the wall to get as close as he could. Her body heat rolled off of her in waves and her breathing grew heavy. Just feeling the possibilities, knowing that this was a possible step, was electrifying.

He kneaded her buttocks between his hands and leaned back to lick her throat. At this rate, they'd never make it to Christmas Dinner and Silky would be upset.

His tongue gently traced her ear, and he impulsively flexed his hips - and his very turgid erection - between her legs. All of fairy and God's Kingdom could come raining down on him in that moment and he wouldn't care. He had half a mind to head back for bed, when her breathless, quiet, insistent voice whispered his name, "E-Elias?"

He breathed his answer into her ear, "Hmmmm?"

Oh, her reaction was wonderful. She closed her eyes and shivered with desire. He started to press even further, but she repeated her question from before. "Why don't you want me to wash today?"

He was totally lost in the sensation of her hot clutch of roseate bliss pressing tightly against his very hard arousal with only two thin pieces of cloth separating them. His purr came from deep within, permeating the air between them with vibration, humidity, and intention. He answered in a deep, gravelly tone, "Because I would so very wish to spend our Christmas smelling your roses everywhere we are."

Her blush was intriguing and he eased back to see her expression better. Had he pushed too far? She buried her face in the crook of his neck beneath his jaw and he heard her voice say quietly, "But that means Silky will smell… me, too."

He nearly chuckled. "I would imagine a neighbor such as she has already gathered what we've been up to this morning."

At least she would be spared the worry of what the grim would think. He was off with Simon, watching over the churchyard during Yule.

She tucked her head further against his neck. "Oh, no," she groaned in embarrassment.

He did chuckle a little, then, and it was nice, since he didn't laugh that often. The moment was drained of its heat at the mention of Silky, so Elias pulled away from the wall and set her down to stand. He cupped her face with one hand and leaned over to lightly flick his tongue across her lips in what had become his imitation of a kiss.

"Don't be embarrassed, Chise. This is natural, isn't it? Between betrotheds?"

"Y-yes, I suppose. Neither one of us has any experience, though, so I really don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything. Get dressed and I'll be back after I clean up."

"You don't want me to smell blackberries?" She offered, teasingly. He dropped his jaw in a smile. She was so adorable, his Chise.

The drying tightness finally won over their intimacy and he simply couldn't abide it further. Gathering his clothes from the bed, he explained, "I believe that my 'mess', as you put it, is greater than yours. It's becoming uncomfortable."

"Oh." She said, thinking through what he meant. Then, when it was a little more clear, she said again, "Oh! Ok."

He nodded and quickly left the room before she tempted him to forgo all logical thought and ravish her completely.

Now that he knew what all the fuss was about, he was very interested in trying some of the things he'd read about over the years.

But first, a bath.


	4. Chapter 4

Chise lay back against the rumpled counterpane, her blood racing in her veins with the remnants of her spiking desire for Elias. As stoic as her mage liked to think he was, liked to show the world, he was, in truth, deeply passionate. She wondered if he knew what to call it? Did he realize how exciting it was, to have such power focused on her, on desiring her? The most dizzying aspect was that she knew it was for her, and no one else. He missed her when she was gone, he followed her to bring her back, he was troubled on her behalf and did whatever he could to keep her close.

Such attention, after so many years of being treated like an object or a curse, was addictive. She adored him for it. She'd do anything in her power to make him happy.

As her body wound down, her mind drifted again to the possibilities of his body. She'd now seen his chest, and what a powerful set of muscles he had! Everything about him seemed powerful and fit, but she'd seen him in so many forms… which one was true? If they… if they made love… what form would he take? Did it matter?

She thought about that. Did it really matter? What she'd learned about biology in the past made her think perhaps not, but Elias seemed to be a mixture of things. When he was the most upset, he seemed to take on the form of a chimera, but kept his wolf-skull face. Some male animals had spines in their…

Well. If he did, wouldn't he just… not? She knew he did his best not to hurt her. The most he'd ever done was bruise her skin, and his control was usually extremely unshakeable. He'd had two orgasms this morning and hadn't shifted form at all, so perhaps that wasn't an issue.

Part of her was curious if his - penis, she'd call it a penis. She wasn't a child, anymore! Chise sighed and stretched, reprimanding herself for being such an idiot for being afraid of a word. Now, part of her was curious if his penis would be the same in his different forms. When he'd been in his Naga and Chimera forms, she'd not noticed anything, so there was probably a difference, there, but she doubted they'd come together when he wasn't at least partially humanoid.

She swallowed. Right?

Her eyes slid to the door as she heard the water start from the shower across the hall. There was a perfect opportunity to actually see what to expect. Couldn't she just slip in there without him knowing?

She sat up and stared at the door, debating the risk versus the gain. She doubted he'd be angry at her curiosity; he hadn't been before. Clasping her shirt together, she stood and made her way quietly across the hall. Her hand hesitated at the knob, but determination soon steadied her hand and she grasped it firmly, slowly turning it to keep the latch as silent as possible.

Steam rolled across her face. Elias must like a hotter shower than she did. She slipped through the doorway and closed the door as quietly as she'd opened it. So far, so good - he'd not seemed to notice. She could see his horns above the decorative screen and his large shadow through the colored glass. Her heart sped up as she made out his form. Wide shoulders, heavily muscled back, narrow waist, and what looked like a generous curve to his bottom. Everything she'd felt through his clothes before was exactly as she'd expected, and then some.

Before she knew it, she'd shifted closer to try and get a better view, but he'd turned the shower off, so she stood still, afraid to get caught. She was kind of invading his privacy. Water splashed and she heard a very satisfied groan as he apparently sat down in the large clawfoot tub. She smiled. Did Elias pick out the tub? Did he see the irony in him bathing in a tub with clawed feet?

On her own bare feet, she padded across the tiled floor, along the wall behind her mage, and tried to peek over his shoulder into the water.

.o.

His hearing was attuned to the smallest change, and he'd heard the door latch click open. He paused in the shower, listening intently as his heartbeat accelerated. Soft footsteps pattered across the bathroom floor and he knew it had to be Chise. Only a screen separated them, and she'd never seen him completely naked. Should he be concerned? Should he hide? Reprimand her? Or not? He was like the Neighbors and paid almost no attention to his own nudity, except as required to cover it by modern society standards. If Chise were to accept him, shouldn't he just… be himself?

With that thought in mind, he continued washing his refined form, caring to linger a bit longer under the spray than he normally would. The tub was nearly full by the time he'd shut off the shower and was a wonderfully scalding temperature. He sat down in the heated water and let out a groan of appreciation, settling his arms and neck against the tub rim.

The room had heated enough to enhance and carry scents, and the most intriguing scent let him know that Chise was behind him. Roses… out of all the humans he'd followed around in shadows and light, none had ever smelled so distractingly intoxicating. He tried to remember if he'd smelled her like this before, but he must have dismissed the scents as circumstantial. Honestly, he couldn't remember ever being around her in an arousing situation where she wasn't around some kind of vegetation that would mask her scent, or around a Neighbor that always smelled of fresh green things, anyway.

Her clothing shifted behind his head somewhere and he heard the quiet slide of skin on skin, as if she were rubbing her legs or hands together, and his jaw dropped down slightly in a smile. Curious as a magpie, was his Chise.

"Elskan, why don't you come closer and see what you came to see."

Her little gasp was endearing, and he lifted a hand around his horn to her in invitation. Her small hand was soon encased in his, and he pulled it forward enough to rest her hand on his chest. He let go and she slid her hand along his skin, back and forth, settling her body against the tub, with her breasts pillowing his head. A low, appreciative groan slipped out as he let his head rest against her.

He could get used to this. There was something very satisfying about lying back in a hot bath with Chise holding his head up. Her chin came to rest against his head, in a reverse of their usual embrace, and all was right in the world.

Elias breathed slowly, meditating on enjoying the moment. After a few quiet moments, Chise's hands shifted to cup themselves to the curve of his pectoral muscles, then slowly spread wide to lightly tease his nipples. He inhaled sharply and felt an answering perk in his sex as soon as he filled his nostrils with her scent. Surely she'd seen that part of him now, so her explorations were akin to approval. His penis flared to life, which was an interesting feeling in the swirling water. Her fingers circled his breasts, teasing with her nails and he contemplated dragging her into the tub with him.

Interest in that thought blazed in his mind and the idea of bathing in her scent as her fluids mixed with the water in the tub sent his breathing into erratic huffs. His left hand grasped hers and gently pulled her around to his side. She looked to him in confusion, her gaze shifting from his face to his body, back and forth in complimentary distraction.

"Chise," he said, gaining her attention. "Undress and get in."

Her face bloomed in a brilliant blush, but she didn't hesitate in obeying him. Clothing rustled to the floor and within seconds, she had her hands on the rim of the tub. Her small breasts swayed forward in temptation, and he sat up a bit more to reach over to lift her in. The resulting waves of water splashed over the rim of the tub onto the floor, but he couldn't be bothered, Chise was with him. He held her up until her feet settled on both sides of his hips, then he left her standing over him. What a sight, she was, standing nude in the morning light. His hands settled against her knees and slid up and down the curves of her smooth legs in appreciation.

Her body was a small wonder - all smooth, soft curves. Letting his hands and eyes roam as they wanted, he discovered a few new places that seemed to excite her. He knew about her breasts being erogenous, but her hips… her lower belly… the backs of her thighs…

As his hands wandered, his eyes became fixated on the crux between her legs. Her pubic hair was the color of flame and gathered in thick curls, shining in the morning light coming in from the window next to them. He knew her scent was the strongest, there, and where her legs parted, he could see one curl dripping with rose-honey. His hands came up and kneaded her thighs, his thumbs curling between and pressing higher and higher with each sweep.

Her breathing was erratic and her hands fluttered like startled birds, finally coming to rest wrapped around her own waist. He'd worked his hands close to touching her fragrant portal and lifted his gaze to hers before lightly drifting a thumb across the singular curl. Her face transformed from anticipation to need and he clutched her thighs tightly, digging his nails into the soft flesh before loosening his grip and gently sliding his thumb up into her wetness. Her eyes widened and her breathing shuddered in her chest.

Watching her body flush and unfurl for him as his thumb delved into her impossible heat was astounding. He drew the rest of his hand between her legs and used a long finger to explore further. The sheer stunning heat that wrapped around his finger was like a drug and he felt his senses heighten and focus. He usually kept at least a loose feed on what was happening around him, but Chise standing over him, submitting to his explorations, held his complete and full attention. He wanted to know what her face looked like when she released. Would it slacken? Would it flush? Would she keep her perfect spring green eyes on him?

He realized she looked like that now and decided he wanted to push her reactions. His learning had been in abstract, before, but now…

Keeping his right hand between her legs, he steadied her with his left and looked up to give her a flicking kiss across her lips. She smiled down to him and slightly opened her mouth, tentatively sticking her own tongue out to meet the tip of his. He was taken aback, closing his mouth to regard her with interest and stilling his busy fingers, below. Her tongue felt somehow more intimate than his finger, at the moment. He wanted to do it again, so slowly re-opened his jaws to slide out his tongue towards her mouth. She licked him again, then swirled her tongue around his. Lightning arced up his spine and he felt a shift in his consciousness that usually heralded a shift in form, but he couldn't find a way to give a damn. His tongue thrust forward into her mouth and she gave a muffled cry in surprise, quickly accommodating him, to his delight.

Her small mouth tasted like almonds and honey and her small teeth were smooth and fine-grained. He felt the ridges of her mouth with the flattened tip of his tongue and the urge to taste without devouring was confusing but pleasant.

He wanted to feel the different textures of her skin with his tongue, so started withdrawing from the interior of her mouth, using the long tip to tantalize the delicate inside of her lips. She pulled back and giggled, bringing up a hand to rub her lips.

"What's wrong?"

"That tickled."

He worried that he'd broken the moment or hurt her in some way, but her smile was endearing.

"The inside of your mouth is ticklish?" he asked, confused at such a thing. She nodded.

"Lips are very sensitive."

He thought about that. The bone of his face was not very sensitive. He felt temperature and pressure, like when Chise kissed him, but he only felt it slightly. Lips… Well, he only had lips in his human form. Within the shifting of a shadow, he made his body into that form, and had to adjust back in the tub to regain his excellent view of her body. When he looked up to her again, she seemed surprised, but intrigued.

He tilted his head in question. "I know you don't like me this way, but would you let me kiss you like this, just once? I want to know what you feel."

Her hands reached out and held his face and she looked worried. He felt his brows knit in a human expression of concern.

After she searched his eyes for a moment, she spoke. "Elias… it's not that I don't like you, like this. You're very handsome, you know."

"Then why…?" Why did she say he looked fake? Why did she protest his offer last night?

"You're too perfect, like this. I know it's not you."

"I promise, it is very much me. Just because I wear a different shape, my mind is still my own."

"I know. I know that, Elias. But you're more… you… when you're the other way." Her knees bent and she leaned closer. "I have no problem kissing you, whatever you look like."

Their eyes met, and while his mind wrapped around such a profound statement, he leaned closer, reaching her lips in a light, feathery buss. He felt her warm breath against his cheek and his lips were tingling with the tiny sensation. If that little touch had given this much, what would more feel like? His hands mirrored hers and held her face, pulling her into a velvety press of lips. She moved her mouth against his and their lips shifted until they fit together. He wasn't sure what to do- he knew their tongues would become involved, like before, but was there some sort of etiquette to follow? They'd not really-

Chise took control and licked his lips with the tip of her tongue. He was transported with the nervous response all over his body from such a small thing. His skin was flushed, his heart was racing, and his penis- well, he'd never wanted to touch it so much in his long, long life. His mouth opened for air and his elskan min took advantage, delving her tongue in his mouth and mimicking his search of her mouth from before. When she reached the part where she ran her tongue along the satin lining of his lips, he was overcome with sensation. His hands wrapped around her obliques, pulling her down to lay flush against his skin.

Thankfully, her body felt very similar against his, in comparison to his other form. He was worried she would feel differently, but the thought left his mind as Chise groaned, wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss. His hands were slipping down her back to her bottom and he was fascinated by the different feel of these hands against her skin. She went from feeling like the finest silk to something a little different, like satin, something still slick, but with slightly more resistance. Her knees braced on the tub by his hips, keeping her most intimate self off his body, but he didn't care. His fingers wrapped against the fold at the base of her buttocks and massaged the muscles back and forth, pushing and pulling her sex and filling the air with her intoxicating scent.

He still wanted to be covered in the smell of her, but was vacillating between that need and his first kiss.

Well.

There was a way he could have both, wasn't there? He took advantage of the soft lips of his human form and kissed his way down her cheek, over her jaw, pulling her higher and higher until he passed over her breasts. He was amazed at how sensitive the skin on his face was, and enjoyed the comfort of pressing it to her chest. She was back to standing again, and he remembered her actions from before, when she'd suckled on his nipple. Would it feel as good to her as it did before?

Opening up his mouth against the soft pillow of her breast was another revelation. Something about the press of his sensitive lips against the supple give was… comforting… desirous… He found himself latching onto a patch of skin, pulling the delicate flesh into his mouth and sucking. Her hands nested in his hair and held on, encouraging him to continue. He worked his way around to do the same to her nipple and the difference of suction was intense. She moaned into the tiled room and his sensitive ears pricked with the beautiful sound.

His tongue remembered his mission, though, and continued on its path down her body, pausing to swirl around her navel, tempting him to nip at the tiny curve of belly just beneath. He'd never have guessed that teeth and lips were so very much a part of human sexual interaction, but it seemed the mammal came through, after all. This gave him more confidence. His urges felt dangerous… animal… He didn't want to hurt her, but so far the instinctive nips and grazes of teeth were welcomed.

He came to the soft patch of flame-colored hair at her pubis and took a deep breath. He looked up to her for permission, but her eyes were closed.

He took that as tacit agreement for whatever he wanted, and slid down in the tub a few inches. A moment's anticipation breathed between them, and he used one hand to pull back the curls protecting her honeyed treasure. It was… very pink. As pink as her mouth and just as wet, if not more so. His tongue reached out, his face pressed hard against her thighs. She shifted slightly apart and his mouth met her sex before he knew it.

His nose was buried in her thatch of hair, his upper lip pressing against her clitoris and his tongue… Oh, his tongue was finding her saccharine nectar exquisite.

It was roseate ambrosia and his eyes rolled closed. He searched amongst her labia for the wellspring and was not disappointed. Chise's hands came down hard on the rim of the tub near his head. He vaguely heard her heavy breathing as he kissed her nether lips, bathing his face in her juices. The source of the physical manifestation of her desire for him was swollen like a ripe fruit. He stuck his tongue up into that hot little hole and her cries drove him on. His free hand came up to help, and between using his thumb and his tongue, he could feel the tightened bit of skin that was her virginity.

Chise being a Slay Vega was very appealing to magic-users, and her virginity was nearly as much, so. So much magic was made more powerful by the one who took virgin's blood, and her magic would become stronger by becoming a woman initiated to sex. He knew these things, he'd read them many times, but never had he thought he'd have the opportunity to be present for such a gift… yet, here he was.

His tongue ran up to her clitoris and he experimentally suckled her, there. The resulting exclamation from her and overflow of honey from her body shifted something inside, again, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep-

Her hands wrapped into his hair and pressed his face harder in. That act alone drove him mad with desire, such that he lost control of his human form. Chise ended up with a handful of horns and his bony snout pressed to her clit. He paid no mind to her surprise and took advantage of his longer tongue, opening his jaw wide, grazing his teeth against her soft flesh, and eagerly delving into her body. The tightness made him writhe his wet muscle inside her, thrusting into her body as far as he could reach.

She yelped, curved away from him slightly, and he came back to himself.

No. No, no, no. He'd hurt her. He fully backed away, pulling her free of his mouth which still tasted of her virgin's blood. What had he done? All interest in moving forward withered away as his entire attention came to focus on what he could do to ease her pain. Had he cut her? Bitten her? Strained her? He wasn't sure.

Soon, he had her cradled against him in the cooling water and looked her over in concern. He saw a small amount of blood rinse away from her body.

He didn't know what to do… "Chise? Did I hurt you?"

He knew this was too much, to expect himself to be able to handle such a thing as sexual relations with her. Why did he go so far? Clearly, he was stupid-

"Elias, stop it."

"What?"

"Stop trying to figure out what you did wrong."

"Chise… I hurt you."

"Not… not really."

"You're bleeding."

"And you know why I'm bleeding, don't you?" He shook his head in worry. "I didn't think it would be that easy, but you broke through my hymen. It bleeds when that happens."

"You were in pain," he accused.

"For a moment. I wish you hadn't stopped, I'm feeling this heavy pressure," her fingers ran down his body, over her stomach, and came to rest between her thighs, "here."

He watched in fascination as her legs parted and her fingers started moving where his tongue had been. She leaned back against the side of the tub, her buttocks brushing against his reawakening interest. Stunned at her masturbating in his lap, he sat and watched. Whatever he'd done in his life that had merited this beautiful creature to be here, with him, in this moment, he was thankful. Her other hand cupped her breast and he watched to learn. Every circle, every pinch, every moan, he drank in, learning her as best he could.

When her orgasm came, it flowed from her body in soft waves, her low groans of his name singing sweet music to him. His curiosity had been sated as she'd held her eyes to his when she went over, her lips parted and panting in the rush. By the time she calmed her writhing body, he'd wrapped his hands around her and pulled her close.

He got his wish. He'd bathed in her.

With a contented sigh, he stood up, toed the drain loose and stepped out of the water, onto the braided rug nearby. Chise snuggled up against him and he felt… powerful.

Hmm. He rolled his tongue in his mouth.

Just how powerful did he feel?

Murmuring the words for the drying spell, he noticed its difference immediately. So did Chise.

"Uff, it's hot." She wriggled a bit and he let her down, careful to not let her slip on the wet floor.

The spell had not dried them gently, as it normally did. It had dried them so quickly, it raised the temperature of the room several degrees. Hmm. He'd have to experiment to see how far this went, but for now, they needed to get dressed for breakfast.

As he dressed in his daily wear, she redressed into her pyjamas and, with a parting smile, sneaked back out into the hallway.

He wasn't sure why she was sneaking. Silky knew everything that went on in this house.

He looked into the mirror to straighten his bolero tie and noticed something new.

"Huh. Bones can blush."


	5. Chapter 5

Chise slipped into their room quietly and bit back a grin as she leaned against the door to close it. She would have never thought that her deflowering would be standing in a bathtub with a monster's mouth between her legs. It was a little strange, but with a life like hers, strange had become quite normal.

She was slightly embarrassed by pleasuring herself in Elias' lap like that, but at the same time, nothing had felt more natural. She'd watched him watch her, and it was amazing to see the small tells of emotion she could now read.  
He desired her, and she loved it.

As she started over to the wardrobe where she kept her clothes, she started undressing, and, as the button placket parted, she noticed a kind of reddish bruise on one of her breasts. She stopped in front of the dresser with the only mirror in the room and looked more closely.

She laughed lightly. A kiss mark*! Something warm curled in her belly and she went to pull down her pyjama pants as she continued to the wardrobe. Pulling out her normal daywear seemed almost wrong, what with this being Christmas Day. She thought perhaps today was a day to try one of the lovely dresses Silky made for her. Flipping through the hangers, she found a few of differing colors and styles. White made her blush, especially after the things she and Elias had done this morning. No, she needed something a little more bold. She pushed the majority of pastels aside and came across a plum-colored dress that reminded her of Elias' skin. She pulled out a long, cable-knit sweater dress that looked very soft and felt even softer. It would fall past her knees, but she could wear long socks with her slippers and be warm enough…

She blushed and looked down at the small drawer that housed a neatly folded pile of panties. Dare she…?

Without too much thought, she pulled the sweater dress on over her head and shivered. It was indeed incredibly soft and made her feel grown up and a little naughty at the same time.

How would Elias react if he knew she wasn't wearing proper undergarments throughout the day? She was fascinated by the idea of his fascination with her smelling like roses. Wouldn't it be easier to smell if she wasn't wearing anything to block her scent?

Pressing her fingers to her mouth, she sneaked a view of herself in the mirror. She looked… nice. The color was dark enough and the fabric thick enough that it wasn't obvious that she wasn't properly clothed.  
Her mind wandered as she brushed her hair.

Would he… would it…

It.

Oh, yes, IT. She wasn't entirely sure what to think about his… penis, Chise, grow up!

She finished with her hair and bent over to pick up her pyjamas to fold them neatly and tuck them into the wardrobe. Her thoughts were spinning and spinning over what she'd seen in the bathroom, when she'd finally gotten to look.

When she'd sneaked up behind him and he'd invited her to come forward, she'd been very embarrassed and excited. As she'd cuddled up to his head and peeked over to look down, she'd been a little surprised at how… small it was. His body was so much larger than hers, she'd expected something bigger that couldn't fit in her hand.

She donned a pair of gray wool knee high socks and shoved her feet into her house shoes, thinking about how that utterly male part of him had changed into something more like she'd expected as she'd played with his chest.

It certainly hadn't stayed small, and from what she'd seen from anatomy books and that illustrated book hidden away in his library, that was normal. His penis hadn't looked much different in shape than the book showed, just a bit larger and a lot darker than his human form.

What had started out kind of wrinkly and lazy, laying against his thigh, had soon become a helmeted tumescence, with the wrinkly part tightening and rolling away to reveal a purplish-maroon head that waved at her through the water.  
She couldn't take her eyes off of it.

As soon as he'd told her to undress, she'd been wary but intrigued. Standing over him had let her get closer looks without touching just yet, and she was very interested in learning more about that particular shape-changing part of her magus.

When he'd shown another vulnerability to her when he'd asked to kiss her with his human face, she felt awful for telling him that she thought poorly of his change in appearance. Kissing his mouth had been lovely, as well as his explorations after, and as he'd pointed out, it was all very much still Elias.

The cherry on top -ha, she laughed lightly and shook herself to start moving downstairs- had been his oral expedition down below. She still felt trembly inside from the depth and breadth that his real tongue had reached. Something dark and sticky, deep inside her brain, made her wonder what that penis of his would feel like deep inside of her body. What about in her mouth? Would it taste like blackberries, too?

A throb pulsed in her lower belly, twitching in her clitoris, and she briefly considered going back to the room for underwear, but as she reached the bottom step, she made herself keep going into the kitchen.

Elias was reading the paper with a cup of tea, as always, and Silky…

Chise blushed and glanced at the brownie, searching for censure or anger… and found none. Hadn't she disapproved of the orange with cloves last night?

Silky merely smiled her normal smile and placed a plate of crepes drizzled in cinnamon and sugar on the table in front of her, amidst a veritable buffet of breakfast foods. Chise smiled back, following Silky's movements with her gaze. When the neighbor caught her doing this, she put her hand on Chise's shoulder and squeezed lightly, reassuringly. They exchanged a mutual smile and she ducked her head first, unsure of what to make of Silky's acceptance after the orange incident last night.

Elias' voice interrupted her thoughts. "You look very nice in that dress, Chise. Silky, you've outdone yourself."

Both of them smiled at his compliments and Chise tucked into her breakfast. As soon as she'd eaten her fill, she helped Silky clean up, keenly aware of Elias at the table, finishing his tea.

It had been fascinating to see him drink, when she'd first come along. He sipped with all the proper manners of an English gentleman, but that pretty much meant he dumped his tea behind his teeth. Him not having lips was confusing, but it never seemed to stop him. She blushed as she thought about what else his lack of lips hadn't stopped him from, both last night and today.

Just as they finished putting away the dishes, Elias said, "I think it's time for presents, don't you?"

She turned an excited smile to Silky, who shooed them out of the kitchen and into the living room. Chise protested to their neighbor, "I have a gift for you, too, you know!"

At her exclamation, the brownie glared and pushed harder, but followed them into the den where the Christmas tree was standing.

Chise happily handed out the small pile of presents and was pleased that Elias seemed to have gotten her something other than a teddy bear. As much as she liked her gift from before, she didn't really want the reminder of how young she was, compared to him.

She sat on the sofa and watched avidly as Silky opened her box of colored threads. The soft smile the neighbor gave told Chise the advice she'd heeded from the centaur proved right - something useful was always appreciated. Silky also had a mysterious small basket that she caressed with one gloved hand, and a new pair of gloves from Elias.

"Oh, this is nice. I've never had a watch, before."

They both turned to see Elias holding up the brass pocket watch Chise had found for him in the village antique shop. She shyly explained, "I'm sorry it doesn't work, but I thought you might enjoy the puzzle of fixing it. They said it just needed to be cleaned and um… realigned?"

He looked from the watch to her and let out a single huff of laughter. "Indeed, I will. Thank you."

His head tilted at her in contemplation, but she looked to the other gifts in his lap. He dropped his attention to open a new pair of gloves from Silky.

"Ha! Well met, Neighbor." He saluted the pleased brownie with his pair of reciprocated gloves and set them aside, opening a few more gifts before turning to watch Chise.

She blushed and looked at the small pile beside her. She reached for the silver-wrapped box and found a lovely plaid scarf from Silky. "Thank you!" Her heartfelt smile was met as she wrapped it once around her neck and reached for another gift. A small locket from Ruth, a small box of candy from Alice, a copy of the New Testament in Japanese from Simon, and a pair of star shaped crystal earrings from the Barlays rounded out everything but her gift from Elias. She picked up the small square of red cloth that was tied with a sprig of mistletoe and a gold bow. She blushed and glanced at him, remembering their kisses from earlier. Her mage was sitting still with an air of amusement about him, which made her unsure whether to be wary of a joke, or that something was going to be funny about the gift. Elias did like his jokes. She pulled apart the wrapping and inside was nothing funny. A beautiful pair of silver hair combs sat nestled in the red cloth.

She lifted the gleaming metal combs and looked at them closely. Roses were embossed on the finely worked metal, and the smooth combs were curved to fit against her head. A gloved hand lifted them out of her grasp and she looked up to see Silky smile and start to tuck them into her hair. Chise looked over at Elias, and stuttered her thanks.

"They're beautiful. I-I've never had anything so pretty." When Silky was done, her hair felt strange to be away from her face, but it was nice not to fight her fringe. She murmured her thanks, but the brownie had already started bustling around the room, cleaning up the discarded wrappings and carrying them into the kitchen to be recycled.

"Have you ever heard the story of the 'Gift of the Magi'?"

Elias' seeming non-sequitur confused Chise. Was this some new Yule lore he wanted to teach her? She blushed at the thought and looked to the coffee table where they'd left the cloved pomander last night. Silky had obviously removed it at some point. Remembering she was supposed to be answering a question, she shook her head in the negative and waited for Elias to explain.

"It's an American Christmas tale, but I find it has a connection to us, today. You see, you gave me a pocket watch, and I gave you hair combs. These items are part of the tale, interestingly enough."

He lifted the watch to look at it more closely. She'd picked out the watch, mainly because it was priced so low, but also because it had a very ornate "E" engraved on it. The shopkeeper said between the engraving and its state of disrepair, no one wanted it. In an odd way, she kind of felt a kinship with the poor little watch.

"Let's go up to the library, and I'll find the book with the tale in it. I think you would like it."

Smiling, she agreed and replied, "Just let me put my gifts away in our room and I'll be right there."

He nodded and looked at her for a bit, tilting his head to see the combs. "They look very good with your hair. I'm glad I found them."

At that, she blushed, but approached him where he still sat in his chair. They watched each other for a moment, until Chise leaned over and kissed him at the end of his snout.

"Thank you, Elias. I like your gift very much."

His hand came up to caress the side of her face and his tongue slipped out from behind his teeth to flick against her lips in answer. "Go on. I'll meet you in the library, elskan mín."

She giggled happily and gathered her gifts, then ran up the stairs to put them away.

.o.

Elias took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before standing up. Breakfast had been an exercise in torture, watching Chise devour the special dish the Silver One had made for Christmas. He was transfixed every time she licked her fork or made a small hum in the back of her throat in pleasure and the smell of cinnamon mixed with a very tantalizing smell of roses was damned near dizzying.

He'd thought that gift-giving would distract from that torture, but watching her move about, handing out their gifts… he had a sneaking suspicion she wasn't wearing any undergarments.

She bent down very carefully, but when she moved up or down, the wool fabric of her dress didn't catch on any lines or seams of… well, anything.

He'd purposefully kept his pile of gifts in his lap to hide his burgeoning erection. He also got what he'd wished for earlier. Tantalizing whiffs of her erotic fragrance danced across his senses in everything they did. It was divine torture.

Now that gifts were out of the way, he would have her all to himself for a few hours until lunchtime. Reading with her about the gift of love felt like an appropriate pastime, so he'd made the suggestion.

As he finally stood and pocketed his gifts, he thought that perhaps now, when she sat in his lap to read with him, things would be different.

His heart thumped in his chest and he felt a thickening tension in his balls. She would be sitting in his lap, and he'd be able to find out if she was wearing undergarments or not.

No one was around, so he let himself have a salacious, growling grin. Chise was more than he could have hoped for in a companion. He couldn't name all of the emotions roiling through him, but he knew they were all because of her.

He made his way into the library and magically called the thin collection of stories** to his hand, placing it on the side table next to his lounging chair. He heard her quick footsteps in the hallway and turned just in time to see her throw the door wide, grab it and thrust it closed.

She grinned and barreled to him, hugging his waist. He admitted to himself long ago that this was his favorite form of greeting from her, but perhaps that would change after today.

He lifted her up in his arms and moved to the chair, sitting with her draped across his legs, as they often did. His palm went immediately to her thigh, but was waylaid by the arresting glimmer in her eyes. The way she looked at him made him feel as if he  
weren't a monster or a half-formed freak, as so many were quick to call him. She made him feel as if he were exactly as he needed to be. He was entranced and slightly hypnotized as she brought her hands up to his face to caress his jaw.

They stared at each other for several moments, drinking in the different tone of their intimacy. She broke the intensity by breathlessly asking, "Kiss me?" She threw her head back and exposed her delicate, creamy throat to him and he was nearly undone.  
With a pleased hum, he grasped her hair in one hand, tightened his hold on her thigh in the other, and opened his mouth before greedily lapping a path up her neck. His teeth drew wide so he could get the salty-sweet taste of her on the back of his tongue, careful to keep his powerful jaw from scraping her skin.

Her hands greedily slid from the back of his jaws until she reached the column of his own throat, then her deft little fingers teased the collar of his shirt. He was again transported by the depth and range of his emotional response to her, and lifted his mouth away from her throat to use the tip of his tongue to delve into her open mouth.

To his surprise, she suckled his tongue into her mouth, moaning and shifting in his lap. The hand on her thigh opened and closed, dragging the material of her dress higher up her legs. He moved his hand further up, cupping her buttocks and using his thumb to seek out any seams or edges of her panties.

There were none and he pulled her more tightly against him. Her upper lip was braced against his teeth, but she quickly pulled away for a heaving breath. How did she take his tongue so deeply into her mouth… that small mouth!

They stared at each other again, but this time when his hand started wandering and massaging her body through her dress, she grabbed his hand. Without looking, she unbuttoned his glove, yanked it off and threw it over her shoulder, before taking his hand and solidly placing it against her naked thigh.

He didn't need to be told what to do, so easily dragged his naked palm against her skin, twisting over her thigh to dive directly for her honeyed well. She gasped and parted her legs, welcoming his touch. He kept watch of her expressions, metaphorically feasting on the way her eyes glazed over when his long middle finger teased her lower lips, wetting them in her own juices.

She writhed impatiently, squeezing her legs together against his hand, then releasing. She made a noise of frustration in their throat and he paused to see what was the matter.

Looking at him with a question in her eyes, he waited for her to ask it, but was surprised when she braced herself and shifted her seat. He pulled his hands away, unsure of what she needed. Before he knew it, his Chise was straddled over his thighs, with his very aware erection straining against his trousers to reach her. He was breathless and she looked determined, with a mischievous glint in her spring green eyes.

Keeping eye contact, she very deliberately lowered her body down to sit her heated core against his trouser-covered cock.

They both cried out into the dimly lit room, savoring the meeting of bodies and enjoying the anticipation of what was surely to come.

His hands went to her hips, grasped firmly and held her in place as he instinctively pressed up against her. Her eyelids dropped half closed and her hips danced against his hands, searching for more connection.

Her hands braced on his shoulders and she started wriggling in rhythmic circles, slowly dragging her wetness against the cloth over his erection. The trousers slightly pinched and he was starting to feel a little chafed, but he didn't care. Chise was making the most delicious noises and the blush riding her cheeks said she was enjoying herself.

Her angle changed and she thrust her hips forward again, but this time, he made a sound of protest. There was only so much he could take on such sensitive skin and he held her hips still for a moment.

"Elias? Did I do something wrong?"

Her erratic breathing was beautiful and matched his own excitement. He didn't want to ruin the moment, but explained, "I like what you're doing, but I'm chafing a bit. Give me a moment and we can do it again."

Her thoughtful expression of concern gave way to something devious, and she slowly lifted herself off of him to stand. He watched her, wondering what she was thinking, until she reached for the fastening on his trousers. He inhaled in eager anticipation, and held his breath as her skilled fingers opened up the fly, pushed his shirt aside, and found the opening in his pants to reach in and grasp the column of flesh that begged for her attention.

His head flew back as the sensation of another hand touching him than his own overwhelmed his senses. "Chise! Ah, Chise!"

He wasn't sure what she was doing at right at that moment, and he didn't care, as long as she didn't stop. Her fingers were cool against the heat of his erection and he felt a hot humidity that had to be her breath. So close… oh, so close. He dug his hands into the rolled arms of his chair to keep from taking control. His Chise was learning him, and it was better than he could have possibly dreamed.

Small, smooth fingers slid into a fist and pressed down on his shaft, pulling his foreskin back and tight, revealing the sensitive head. He rolled his head to the side to get a better view of what she was doing, but was lost again as her soft, soft, soft lips kissed the tip gently. His legs flexed apart, aching to wrap around her, to pull her closer, and his hips trembled with the strain of holding back from pushing up to meet her lovely mouth.

"Mmm. You taste like blackberries, here, too."

The vibrations from her speaking against his cock raged through his nervous system and crawled through his lower back. He felt a shiver of his thorny self try to rise up and take control, but he ruthlessly tamped it down in fear of hurting Chise. Her tongue lapped at the frenulum holding his foreskin in check, then slid down his length. He nearly lost it, then. Her face was buried in his crotch, breathing in and out, exploring him with her tongue. Just as quickly, she licked all the way back up and stopped.

He pulled his head lazily forward to see what made her stop, but she seemed to have just wanted to see his face as she kept eye contact and sucked the fleshy bulb of his cock into her hot, wet mouth.

Without thinking, he grabbed the side of her head and flexed his hips, pushing as deep as he could go. It was… he was… so hot. So-

Everything tightened, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet and slammed everything he was into the point where their bodies met. He heard a vague spluttering noise, but it was quickly drowned out by the gutteral, animalistic cries from his own throat. Pulsing, throbbing, slipping, sliding… he couldn't stop himself from the overpowering, overwhelming release…

His vision went white for a moment, and he wasn't sure if he was breathing or not, but his body was floating in an abyss of pleasure.

Wet coughing brought him back to his senses, and he immediately regretted losing control as he did. He sat up, weaving a bit, and looked down at Chise, hovered at his knees.

Her body racked with another breath, and he leaned forward in concern. "Chise? I-"

She sniffled and looked up, her face a wet mess, interrupting him with a wry smile, "Don't you dare say you're sorry, Elias."

"Why? I lost control and hurt you. Again."

She laughed a little, but he was worried about how loose her expression was. Her lips were swollen and red, her eyes watering… He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief, which she quickly took from him. As she cleaned up her face, he noticed that there was a creamy substance on the corner of her mouth. He reached forward with this naked hand and wiped it away, looking at it more closely. Obviously, it was his semen.

Two distinct emotions warred inside of him. One was pride: He'd marked her mouth as his! The other was shame: He'd lost control and made her cry because of it.

She saw him and pulled his hand down to her face, boldly licking his finger clean. His heart swelled with possessive emotion as he watched her do this.

"Chise, I don't know what to say to you. Please. I didn't want to make you cry, but you felt- your mouth felt-"

"Amazing."

"What?"

"It was amazing, Elias." She smiled up at him and put her head on his knee. "I loved making you lose control, like that."

"Why? Didn't I hurt you?"

Her voice was drowsy and she snuggled against his legs. "I think it was just a gag reflex. You didn't really hurt me, it just made it hard to breathe for a bit. I kind of liked how it made me feel, like I'd made you feel so good, you couldn't help but do what  
you did."

"Yes, that's exactly what it felt like."

Her head turned to look up at him, "Really?"

"Yes. Oh, yes."

She sighed happily against his knee and settled down, relaxing on the floor in front of him. His hand came to rest on her head and he was careful not to dislodge the silver combs he'd given her. She took another deep breath and asked, "Didn't you have a story you wanted to share with me?"

His heart thumped twice in his chest and he was keenly aware of the dangerous depths to which he was falling for her.

"Yes, elskan. The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry."

At that, he reached for the book, flipped to the page where the short story started, and began to read aloud to her.

(I think only one more, sorry it just keeps growing!)

*kiss mark. I chose this to say instead of hickey, mainly because the japanese word for hickey is 'kisumaku' (according to google translate, forgive me if that's not right).  
**O. Henry published The Gift of the Magi in a short story collection called The Four Million in 1906.


	6. Chapter 6

As Elias read aloud into the study, Chise drowsed on the floor with her head on his lap. She listened to the tale, entranced by his beautiful, deep voice, and used her fingers to trace invisible patterns on his thighs.

He stopped reading and gasped lightly when her fingers danced close to his still-exposed penis. The fly of his trousers lay open, and she gently scraped her nails over the fine wool, watching that so-interesting part of him shift slowly harder.

"Chise, do you want me to finish the story, or not?"

She looked up at his breathless tone, and it made her feel powerful. Smiling slowly, she said, "Not."

"You don't like it?"

"Oh, I do. I'm just more interested in us, right now."

"Us?" He tilted his head in question as he watched her stand. She slid her hands up his chest and climbed onto his lap again, settling her knees on both side of his hips.

"Mhmm." Pulling the skirt of her dress out of the way, she looked down and saw that he was very much hard again. Interesting. The book she'd read had said something about the man needing more time to recover than a woman, but perhaps that didn't hold true with magi… or monsters…

She held her breath and lowered her body down, carefully shifting her hips to align her wet core with his naked, hard shaft. Gasping at the thrilling sensation of their intimate parts rubbing against each other, she rocked forward and back. Would he feel this good inside her body? She mewled in anticipation and opened her eyes again to peek at his expression.

Elias seemed momentarily shocked. His hands flew up quickly, like startled birds, then came down hard on the armrests of the chair, digging into the leather upholstery. His head rolled back so all she could see was the underside of his jaw. She couldn't see his expressive eyes, but Chise heard fabric tearing, so sat still for a moment out of concern. Did she go too far? Maybe he wanted to take things more slowly?

"Elias?"

More material tore, and his body started shifting between his normal shape and his human shape, with shadowed hints in between of his largest manifestation. The changes were so rapid, she wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but it made her seat astride his lap more like a lascivious ride, undulating and pistoning beneath her.

Different sizes and possibly shapes of his erection danced between her folds, sliding and writhing with his chaotic transformations, pulling high-pitched cries of ecstasy from her throat as it stimulated everything she could think of that was between her legs. His voice growled and groaned to deafeningly low pitches, which jarred her out of her blissful stupor. She wasn't sure what to do. Was she hurting him? Was he having some kind of fit?

"Elias! What's wrong?"

He kept changing, obviously fighting himself, for another few moments. Just as she was about to leave to go get Silky for help, his hands settled against her hips. She looked up to him to see, surprisingly, his human form, determined and sweaty. The look in his hooded eyes was intriguing and sexy.

Without saying a word, he stood up, holding her tightly to his body, so she wrapped her legs around his waist. His penis slipped down, away from her needy folds, and he started walking.

For a moment, she was confused by what she saw over his large shoulder. The leather chair he always sat in as they studied in the library was completely shredded where his back and hands had been. Surely he knew. He'd had to have felt it, but he kept walking.

"Where are we going?" Almost before she could become concerned, his long, strong legs carried them out of the library, and into the bedroom.

He kicked the door shut and held her close as he crawled to the center of the bed. She looked at him in wonder, slightly embarrassed, very excited, curious to see what would happen next. His strange hazel gaze bore into her own before he dove forward for a blazing kiss.

Her hands went instinctively into his hair, and she had a moment's thought for the silken texture before his kiss overwhelmed her world.

Lips and teeth and tongues met in heated passion. His hips lifted up and his hot, hard cock slid up her dripping entrance. Not to penetrate, just to rock back and forth, like she'd done to him in the ruined library chair. The friction was exquisite and she nearly lost her mind.

She clawed at his clothes, yanking and pulling at the robe and vest before he reared back and melted them away with magic. Her feet kicked off the last house shoe that remained and tried to pull his trousers down his hips. A strange creaking noise registered in the background, but she paid it no heed.

Something changed and he pushed his body up, hunching forward to maintain their lascivious contact. She felt his cock get heavier… thicker… then looked up to confirm that his beautiful ruby eyes glittered down at her in the odd shadows of the room.

She glanced up to the window to see why it would be so dark this time of day, but surprisingly saw branches… no, thorn vines.

Elias had surrounded them with a barrier of thorns.

Was he afraid she would leave? Or that someone would interfere? He stopped moving and looked to see what she was seeing.

He looked embarrassed, and she didn't know why. Worried that she'd lost his passion due to her own stupid curiosity, she started wriggling her dress up, using his hips to brace her thighs as she pulled the cable knit garment over her head.

When it was finally free, she tossed it as far as the thorn cage would let her. It stuck to the thorns and dangled as if she'd hung it there.

Chise smiled and looked up at Elias, naked except for his lower half. She shivered in excitement and reached for his warm body. He obliged by leaning down on his elbows, gathering her body more closely to his.

She snuggled against his neck for a few moments, searching for a way to express to him what she was feeling. "Elias, I like being with you, like this. You make me feel special and wanted, something I've never felt before," she took a deep breath and stuttered out, "I- Aishiteru."

.o.

Elias' entire body shuddered with a deeply contained sob as he reared back to a kneeling position. He'd not learned much Japanese, but had done a cursory study in deference to Chise. He knew what she was saying.

He knew that she was saying she loved him.

Her perfect spring green eyes glittered with unshed tears, bathed in the depth of her emotions. How could he accept this? How could he let her love him?

How could he not?

A tidal wave of heavy ache pressed through his body, starting in his gut and wrenching its way up through his lungs, to his throat. It tightened there, pulling down on his esophagus in a manifestation of emotional pain. At the same time, his brain filled with endorphins, elating his mind to a euphoric state. The heights of heaven and the depths of hell… isn't that how love was described by so many authors?

All at once he knew that he couldn't help but love Chise in return, and may the angels weep and demons laugh for anyone who came between them. His breathing became heavy, pushing the pulsing blood through his veins. Shadows lengthened and the cage of thorns around them grew thick and snarled. His body grew into its true form, and for the first time, he knew he'd not see fear in someone's eyes for it.

Chise looked on with love in her eyes.

"CHISE...I TOLD YOU THAT IT WOULD BE A LIE TO SAY I LOVED YOU."

She nodded, solemnly, and tightened her legs around his long, thin hips. Her hands reached for his claws that braced on the bed to each side of her, each one now larger than her head, and smoothed her cool soft fingers across the scaly backs of them.

"I WILL NOT LIE."

She nodded again, a single tear escaping her luminescent eyes and hitting the pillow with the chink of crystal. He leaned down again, and despite the sadness in her eyes, he could still smell her intoxicating roses.

"I LOVE YOU."

At first, she seemed to not understand what he was saying, but he watched her closely and saw the moment when realization dawned like a new day in her lovely eyes. Tears overflowed their banks and she smiled, letting loose a hiccup of a laugh before grasping both sides of his skull. Pulling him closer, she kissed his teeth with a wet press of lips.

He was elated, he was drugged, he was drowning in feelings, and his only anchor was her. He wrapped his claws around her nude shoulders and pressed his thumbs gently up to press her chin back and expose her throat. Dragging his tongue down her throat, down each perfect, round breast, down her belly and across her navel, he reached the crown of russet thistle atop her dripping quim and proceeded to lick his fill of her roseate nectar.

Her breathless cries turned to broken moans as his tongue sought her pleasure mercilessly. Soon, her chalice quivered and overflowed, and her voice sang with her release. Without pause, he laid her back down and immediately drove his cock home, relishing in the heightened pitch of her cries, trusting that she would stop him if he hurt her.

That was what love was, wasn't it? Trust?

Her little hands clawed at his chest, grasped for his shoulders, braced on his arms, and her legs locked behind his back. Pulling her body up into his lap, he was surprised that he could feel the tightened furls of her nipples against his large chest. Her mouth went directly for his suprasternal notch and her hot little tongue lapped greedily at his skin. His cock pistoned harder and harder up into her tight body, but it wasn't enough. The urge to bite down on her became overwhelming, but he was concerned he would hurt her.

He remembered biting down on her shoulder before, but that was through clothing. The word 'trust' floated through his mind, again, so he took a deep breath and gently clamped his great jaw down on her right shoulder.

Saliva gathered between his teeth, and soon, his hearing rushed, his vision went white, then green, and a great roar poured out of his throat over her body as he came inside her for the very first time. Would it always feel like this? He wished dearly for it to be so.

Her body was writhing, clasping, grasping at his cock and he realized she was coming, too. He let go of her shoulder, lapping at the two punctures that his incisors broke through just above her breast. Roses overwhelmed his senses as she shuddered in his arms and as he looked past Chise, he realized why.

He'd seen her magic manifest many times as green, glowing plants, but with her orgasm, his thorns had exploded in a riot of crimson roses and verdant rose leaves.

Staring in awe, he cradled her to him, stroking her hair and down her back as she came down from her high.

This was the manifestation of their love. This was proof that they were made for each other.

"CHISE… LOOK."

He carefully pulled away from her to let her see what he did and she gasped.

"Did we do this?"

"YES."

She grinned up at him, caressing his jaw with both hands.

"We did this."

"YES."

"You love me."

"YES, I DO."

"And I love you."

"AISHITERU."

"Elskan min."

He wrapped his arms around her, as their vines were wrapped in a barrier around them. He was finally accepted, finally loved for who he was.

He finally understood.

Finally.

The End.


End file.
